Interviews political scientist Fikrat Sadigov.
Q: Can the intensification of France, as the co-chair country in the Minsk Group of OSCE, bring new elements in the negotiation process, giving an opportunity to make achievements in Karabakh conflict?
A: I have recently formed an opinion that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs decided to apply lone, or the so-called separate talks with the parties to the Karabakh conflict. Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev, who mediated several meetings between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia, used to apply the same tactics. France and the United States also do the same. The example can be the recent visits of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the US First Assistant Secretary of State William Burn to the region.
But I do not think it possible that Sarkozy’s visit and his intensification in the Caucasian direction will produce any effect in the negotiation process. But all the same Azerbaijan should take into account the fact that in the face of France it deals with the leading country of the European Union and the country with which Azerbaijan established quite positive and normal ties on the bilateral and multilateral level.
Q: What has prompted Sarkozy’s letters to presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia upon return from the tour to the South Caucasus countries in which he thanked them for the hospitality?
A: It should be noted that upon his return from the South Caucasus countries Sarkozy sent letters to the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia in which he touched upon a number of issues beside hospitality gratitudes. For example, in his letter to the Armenian president, Sarkozy used the sentence as ‘to assume the risk for the sake of prosperity of Armenia and the region’. This is a very serious appeal given that in the same letter he called Armenia a sister of France. I think that such an assessment to Armenia by Sarkozy has become a result of Sarkozy’s visit to Azerbaijan, because by visiting Baku and Yerevan, he could assess the gap in development levels of Azerbaijan and Armenia.
If the head of the state, in this case the president of France urges his ally country to take a risky step for the sake of welfare, the subtext of this phrase implies that Armenia must at least withdraw from the occupied Azerbaijani lands around Karabakh. In other words, Sarkozy states that if Armenia is willing to be involved in regional projects and thus ensure its future, it has to withdraw from the occupied lands of Azerbaijan.
Q: Is the EU, as the world center of power, able to attain solution to the conflict in the European space, including the Karabakh problem?
A: The European Union is quite a serious political and economic power and this organization could settle the Karabakh conflict by exerting pressure on Armenia. Therefore, despite existing economic and financial difficulties, EU preserves the format of a political union of leading European states. EU should understand that peace in the region is impossible without the resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.
Q: What are Azerbaijan’s expectations from the intensification of France in Karabakh settlement?
A: Relations between Azerbaijan and France are on quite a high level. But France has always been supporting Armenia. There is a big Armenian diaspora in France. In a number of cases, this diaspora determines the results of elections in France. Paris should realize that the welfare of Armenia depends on its participation in regional projects. For this reason, as a country interested in Armenia’s development, can exert pressure on Yerevan for the liberation of Azerbaijani lands. Naturally, France must exert the same pressure on Armenian side together with other Minsk Group co-chairing states. In turn, the co-chairs must have consensus on Karabakh solution.
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